Sports game

ABSTRACT

The invention is of a method and apparatus means for playing an interactive sports game of skill comprising, according to the embodiment described, several geometric projectiles, a bat, and a defined playing field containing the batter&#39;s zone and foul line. The novel geometric projectiles, herein called shots, are long in the body and have both ends cut at an angle. The angled ends, when hit with the bat, allow the shots to jump up into the air from a stationary position on the ground. The cross sectional shapes of the shots are square, round, or multi sided, and are designed to add difficulty in playing the game. Each distinct shape yields a different contact surface area, and reaction, when hit with the bat. The smaller the contact surfaces, the greater the difficulty in long, straight hits. The batter&#39;s play involves positioning the shot on the ground, hitting one of its ends forcing it into the air, and then immediately hitting the airborne shot a second time, propelling it into the playing field. The players in the field gain points if they catch the airborne shots, and further, can replace the batter if they throw the shot to land inside the batter&#39;s zone. The batter can save his position by hitting any incoming shots back into the playing field. The batter gains points if his shots land in the playing field, based on travel distance to its resting place. A tape measure and score sheets are also included. A score of 100 points determines the champion.

[0001] The invention is a method and apparatus for playing a sports game of skill. The apparatus consists of a bat and novel geometric projectiles, called shots, which are long in the body and have different cross sectional shapes, namely round, square, and multi-sided. The ends of the shots are both angled, thus allowing them to be hit vertically airborne from a stationary position on the ground. The play consists of the batter positioning the shot on the ground, striking it to rise into the air, and striking it a second time while airborne into a defined playing field. Players in the field catch the airborne shots for points, and attempt to throw the shot into the batter's zone to strike him out. If the batter fails to hit the incoming shot and it lands in the batter's zone, the throwing player replaces the batter who now moves in to the playing field. The batter receives points for his hit, based on distance traveled by the shot, if not caught by the players. A score of 100 determines the champion. A tape measure and score sheets are provided with the equipment. The object of the invention is not only to provide a new game of entertainment for both children and adults, but also can be used as a teaching aid in mathematics for younger children.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] The present invention pertains to a new sports game and is not related, or an improvement, over Prior Art that was examined.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] No similarities were found with reference to geometric projectiles or shots, their function, design or use, suggested, or even implied, as related to this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The object of the invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new sports game apparatus and method suitable for both children and adults, and not simply limited to a few individuals or larger team activities. It is the intent that the nature of the game lends itself to few or many players, with or without the use of designated teams. The many novel features that result in this new game are not anticipated, suggested, or implied by any of the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0005] To attain this, the invention apparatus comprises of a bat, geometric projectiles called shots, score sheets, a tape measure, and numbered chips. The playing field itself is such that it has three defined areas. The batter stands in the circular batter's zone and all remaining players are located in the playing field, in front of the batter. Behind the batter is located the foul zone. The batter's zone is bisected by a linear foul line, running from left to right as the batter faces the players, thus defining the playing field. The playing field itself has no other definition or restriction, except as defined by the foul line.

[0006] The shots form an important part of this invention, and replace the typical sphere balls used in common existing games. Their body shapes are long and cross-sectional shapes being square, round, or multi sided, and have both ends cut on an angle. This unique and novel design is both functional and necessary to add challenge and interest to the game. The shots were developed for this specific purpose. The angled ends allow the shots to become airborne from a stationary position on the ground when hit with the bat, and the level of difficulty in propelling the shot is determined by its geometric shape, as will become obvious once this embodiment of the present invention is subsequently examined in detail. Their specific design was incorporated not only to add challenge to the game, but also to allow the players to develop special hitting skills required to increase their score.

[0007] The operation and method of the present invention are such as to allow easy playing with minimal instructions to either adults or children. Numbered chips are used to select the playing positions at the start of the game, with the highest number winning the batter's position. The batter is situated in the batter's zone and attempts to hit the shots into the playing field. The shot is placed on the ground by the batter, who then strikes one of its ends with the bat, forcing it to jump vertically into the air. Once airborne, the batter immediately strikes the shot a second time, propelling it into the playing field. The batter has three opportunities to successfully hit each shot, but if he fails, he is replaced by the next player as determined by the numbered chips selected at the start of the game. The players in the playing field attempt to catch the airborne shot, and then throw it back to land and rest in the batter's zone. The batter can hit the incoming shot back into the playing field to save his position as batter. If the incoming shot lands and remains in the batter's zone, the throwing player is said to strike out the batter and replaces him in that position. The batter is awarded points, based on the travel distance by the shot, only if it is not caught by a player and lands in the playing field. The players receive points only for catching the airborne shots. A score of 100 points determines the winner. It now becomes obvious that, to be the champion of the game, a player must become the batter as often as possible, and also needs to develop good hitting skills to maximize his score.

[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new sports game as a tool to teach young children basic mathematic skills as required to measure and record the player's scores.

[0009] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new sports game having the novelty to attract, and appeal to, all age groups, and not limited to individuals who excel in sports.

[0010] An even further object of the present invention is to make the game available for children in a lightweight plastic form for safety reasons, and more durable plastic or wood forms for adults to yield greater wear and tear during use.

[0011] Still yet another object of the present invention to provide a new sports game that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed, thereby making such sports game economically available to the buying public.

[0012] These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operation and apparatus, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1—shows the playing field and zones, player's positions, and the shot;

[0014]FIG. 2—is a view of three different geometric shots of the invention;

[0015]FIG. 3—shows a cross section of the square airborne shot and strike motion of the bat;

[0016]FIG. 4—is similar to FIG. 3, showing the shot hit by the bat;

[0017]FIG. 5—shows the shot rotated to its side after being hit by the bat in FIG. 4;

[0018]FIG. 6—is used to compare the size of contact points between the bat and the shots;

[0019]FIG. 7—shows the ground position of the shot before being hit airborne by the bat;

[0020]FIG. 8—reveals the reactionary response of the shot once hit by the bat;

[0021]FIG. 9—shows the shot airborne after the hit, as in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Referring to FIG. 2, the major elements constituting the apparatus of the present invention are seen, namely the bat and the shots. The individual geometric shapes of the shots are obvious as follows: shot 20 being square, shot 30 is multi sided, and shot 40 is round. All the shots have angled ends 150. Bat 10 is typical, being long and round. Any number of differently shaped shots can be used in the game. Their individual shapes determine the level of difficulty in being hit by the bat, and propelled great distances, largely due to the nature of the actual contact surfaces between the bat and shot. A close examination of the events during contact between bat 10 and shots 20, 30 and 40 will make clear how this principle is applied and creates a challenge in the game, resulting in the need to develop special hitting skills to become the winner.

[0023] Referring to the drawing in detail, the shape of the bat 10 and shot 20 can clearly be seen in FIG. 3. An end view of the airborne square shot 20, and side view the bat 10, are used to help simplify the interaction between bat and shot. The bat 10 is typical, namely round, long, and having a curved surface 11. The square shot 20 has four flat hitting surfaces 21, and four edges 22 along its length. As bat 10 swings through arc 60 and strikes shot 20, surface 11 of bat 10 will make contact with either flat surface 21 or edge 22 of shot 20. As seen in FIG. 4, in this example shot 20 came into contact with bat 10 on edge 22 at contact point 50. This is obviously a very small and unstable point between bat 10 and shot 20, and shot 20 will tend to rotate off edge 22 through turning motion 61 and rest on surface 21, thereby forming a new, much larger, and stable, contact point 50, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The improved contact point 50 thus results in a high-energy transfer to shot 20 from bat 10 during the hit through swing 60. Consequently, the stable contact point 50 invariably makes the square shot 20 the easiest type to successfully hit with the greatest distances traveled.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 6, the multi sided shot 30 in this case displays eight flat contact surfaces 31 and eight edges 32, along its length. It can be clearly seen that the flat contact surfaces 31 are substantially smaller in size and area than the contact surface 21 on shot 20. Using the same logic and reasoning as for the square shot 20 described earlier, it is obvious that the smaller contact surface 31 subsequently produces reduced stability at point 50 when in contact with curved surface 11 of bat 10, thereby making the shot 30 more difficult to successfully hit and propel great distances when compared to the square shot 20. The principle of the shot rotating off the edge 32, if struck there, and resting on the flat contact surface 31, still applies as with shot 20 described earlier and seen in FIG. 5.

[0025] Again referring to FIG. 6, the round shot 40 has no flat contact surfaces or narrow edges along its length, but only a continuous curved contact surface 41. Using the same logic as above, it again is obvious that this produces the smallest actual contact point 50 between the shots 20, 30, and 40, and the curved surface 11 of bat 10. Any contact between curved surface 41 and curved surface 11 is minimal, providing no stability, and allowing shot 40 to easily slide off curved surface 11 of bat 10, rendering it the most difficult type of shot to successfully hit and propel great distances.

[0026] The second novel design of the shots is the angled ends 150, as seen in FIG. 7. The batter positions shot 20 so that one of the angled ends 50 creates the open space 60 between tip 80 of shot 20 and ground 70. Open space 60 allows tip 80 of shot 20 to be hit vertically from above by tip 12 of bat 10 through swing 200, thus forcing tip 80 downward to ground 70. Referring to FIG. 8, shot 20 starts to become airborne as follows: when tip 80 is quickly struck with tip 12 of bat 10, it is pushed downward to ground 70, closing space 60. Shot 20 thus rotates on its pivot point 90, in an upward reactionary movement 100. Momentum keeps the shot in motion and it becomes airborne rising upward into the air 110, as seen in FIG. 9. The stronger the downward hit from bat 10, the higher shot 20 becomes airborne.

[0027] The batter controls both distance and direction traveled by the shot in two ways. The trajectory is controlled in varying the downward force used to initially strike the shot on its end. The trajectory and travel distances proportionally change and increase with the downward force of the strike that affects the height reached by the airborne shot before being hit a second time. The higher the shot initially jumps vertically into the air, the longer the travel distance and trajectory height, as the shot now can be hit from underneath, thus propelling it upward and forward into the air. Short hits are made by gently hitting the shot only slightly airborne and giving it a sharp hit keeping it flying parallel with the ground. The travel direction is controlled by the physical orientation of the shot on the ground. The shot will travel along the same line as its body length, allowing the batter to actually aim his hit to a specific area in the playing field. To make this possible, the batter is allowed to manually position, aim, or rotate, the shot before striking it. This is a crucial feature of the game, as the positioning of the shot gives the batter reliable control over the direction of his hit and increases his chance of gaining points.

[0028] The operation and method of the invention consists of a variety of steps involving the interaction of the above elements. At the beginning of the game, batter 1 is selected by the distribution of the numbered chips, with the highest number picked representing the batter's position. As seen in FIG. 1, batter 1 takes his position in the batter's zone 2 and ahead of foul line 5 and foul zone 6, and the remaining players 3 are located in the playing field 4. Batter 1 is given the different shots and allowed three strikes with each one. One strike consists of two actions: positioning and hitting the shot vertically into the air from its stationary location on the ground, and then immediately striking it a second time while airborne and propelling it into the playing field 4, and the method of this action will subsequently be examined. If a shot lands in foul zone 6, the hit is taken again, but only one additional time.

[0029] If batter 1 successfully hits shot 8 into playing field 4, the players 3 try to catch it while still airborne for points. Once caught, player 3 attempts to throw and land shot 8 into batter's zone 2. Simultaneously, batter 1 tries to hit the incoming shot 8 away from his zone to secure his position. If shot 8 lands inside batter's zone 2, batter 1 is considered struck out, and is replaced by the player making the throw. If shot 8 is hit by batter 1 and not caught by player 3, batter 1 receives a point for each meter shot 8 traveled from center point 7 of batter' zone 2 to its resting position on the ground in the playing field 4. If shot 8 thrown by player 3 lands short of batter's zone 2, another player can pick up shot 8 and attempt to strike out batter 1. If incoming shot 8 lands in foul zone 6, no points are given and that play is complete. Batter 1 now attempts to hit his next shot. A tape measure is provided with the game for accurate recording batter's points.

[0030] The batter has three attempts with each shot to hit them into the playing field, and is given one additional hit on any shot landing in the foul zone. If unsuccessful, the batter is replaced by the next player as decided by the draw of the numbered chips, and becomes a regular player.

[0031] The scoring system consists of one point given to the player for catching the airborne shot in the playing field, and one point given to the batter for every meter of distance traveled by the shot, from the batter's zone center, if not caught by a player and landing in the playing field. It is now evident that to win the game, the player must develop good hitting skills and become the batter as often as possible.

[0032] It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is illustrated in drawings and description in the specifications.

[0033] Furthermore, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and public in general, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to quickly and easily determine from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims set forth, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 

I claim:
 1. An interactive sports game comprising, in combination: a play area containing the playing field, batter's zone, and foul line. novel geometric projectiles (herein called shots) to be propelled into the playing field. a bat used to hit and propel the shots. a set of numbered chips used to select playing order or positions. a tape measure and score sheets to record the points acquired by the players.
 2. An action game comprising: a playing field large enough to hold as many players as are playing the game. a playing field containing a batter's zone. a playing field containing a foul area. a bat of suitable size and weight to efficiently propel the shots into the playing field. a set of unique and differently shaped shots.
 3. An action game as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least one shot is square in body shape, thus yielding four large flat contact surfaces for stability when hit with the bat.
 4. An action game as set forth in claim 2 wherein other shots are multi sided in body shape, thus providing smaller contact surfaces and less stability than the square shot when hit with the bat.
 5. An action game as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least one geometric shot is round in body shape, thus providing no flat contact surfaces or stability when hit with the bat.
 6. An action game as set forth in claim 3,4, and 5, wherein the body shape of the shot influences the level of difficulty in propelling the object.
 7. An action game as set forth in claim 3,4, and 5, wherein all shots have both ends cut at an angle.
 8. An action game as set forth in claim 2 wherein the batter's zone is bisected by the foul line, thereby creating and defining the playing field and the foul area.
 9. An action game method comprising the steps of: providing numbered chips used to select the playing positions in the game. providing a bat to propel the shots. providing shots to be propelled into the playing field for points. providing shots of different shapes to increase the difficulty of the game. hitting the shots from the batter's zone for points. catching the flying shots in the playing field for points. gaining the batter's position for additional points opportunities. providing a tape measure and score sheets to records points. awarding winning status to the player earning 100 points. 